Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Books! All of the Wonderful Books!

In the 4 years I've had my Kindle, I have downloaded more than 200 books. I have read 98% of them.

I read every day, always in bed before I fall asleep. With the schedule I now have, between waiting to pick kids up from various schools and practices and working out myself (Who knew I could read while doing the elipticle?), I am reading more than ever.

When I saw this week's Tuesday's Ten theme of 10 Favorite Books, I cringed.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PICK MY 10 FAVORITE BOOKS????

I can't.

It's as simple as that.

Instead, I will give you a list of books I've read in the last year which I couldn't put down. Be warned, I am no book reviewer. My descriptions stink, so I linked to the Amazon pages. Oh, and apparently I like books about orphans. There are a few on here.




1. Half-Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. It is considered a "true-life novel" as it is about the life of her grandmother. It's funny and astounding and completely helps to explain her memoir, The Glass Castle (which is also a fantastic book).

2. The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald. Did you know that there was such a thing as "practice babies"? Home economics departments at certain colleges would have orphan babies for their students to practice their mothering skills. This book is the (fictional) story of one such practice baby.

3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. It was written in 1859 and is known as the world's first mystery novel. Mystery isn't usually one of my first choices, but I really enjoyed this one.

4. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Another book based on true events from long ago. A girl is getting close to aging out of foster care and takes on the job of helping an elderly woman sort through her possessions. Turns out, the elderly woman, Vivian, was an orphan, too. When Vivian was a young girl, she was put on a train with other orphans headed for the Midwest to hopefully be adopted by families there.

5. War Brides by Helen Bryan. Five ladies of very different backgrounds find themselves in a small village during WWII.

6. The Birth House by Ami McKay. A woman named Dora Rare, the first daughter born in five generations of the Rare family, becomes an apprentice to a village midwife. The story details the struggle between "modern" medicine and tradition. The bonus to the book is that it takes place in Nova Scotia, where my mom was born and raised.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This was one of the best books I've ever read ever. Have a tissue handy, though.

8. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. It is historical fiction about the life of Hadley Richardson and her husband, Ernest Hemingway.

9. Anything by Catherine Ryan Hyde. No joke. I've read seven of her books, and all of them have been wonderful. No two are the same. They don't follow a pattern like other authors tend to do when they write multiple novels. (If you don't know where to start, the first one I read was When I Found You.)

10. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. This story is told in the point of view of Christopher John Francis Boone, who happens to be autistic. He starts writing after he finds his neighbor's dog dead in her backyard and decides he will solve the mystery.

I will now be heading over to Lisa's at The Golden Spoons to find some new books to download. Feel free to join me!


The Golden Spoons

Have you read any good books lately? Have you read any of my picks? What did you think?

Have a lovely day!

22 comments:

  1. Yippee! These are all new to me! I love finding new books! I was up until 1:30 this morning reading a book I just couldn't put down. I didn't finish, but I realized that today was going to be really hard on four hours of sleep. So far, I'm right!

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    1. I hate it when I do that! Why do we do that? It's not like something will happen if we put the book down until the next day. And yet...

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  2. Half Broke Horses is the only one on your list that I've read, and I loved it and The Glass Castle....tearjerkers both!! Some of your others will definitely go on my TBR list.

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    1. I gave Half Broke Horses to one of the kids' teachers for Christmas. She has mentioned how much she loves it no less than 5 times.

      Enjoy!

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  3. The Book Thief made me plain mad. It was just too, too sad. I was furious through my tears. Also loved Horses and Dog in Nighttime.

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  4. Books are wonderful. I love the smell of books. I love the feel of books. I love to get lost is a good book and do often.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. I love to spend time in a bookstore. All of those wonderful books!

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  5. The Book Thief and The Birth House both made my list as well. The Book Thief was so well written and I loved that The Birth House was based in Nova Scotia, where I live. :) Thanks for some new suggestions, I've added a few of these listed to my need to read list.

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    1. When my mom read The Birth House, she was so excited to be able to picture it. The streets and towns they named were ones she knew. Did you have the same experience?

      Hope you like my suggestions!

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  6. Love your list! I've read six of your ten, but I am going to check out the others right now! Out of the six I read, I think Half Broke Horses was my favorite.

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    1. Awesome! Half Broke Horses was such a good read.

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  7. Wow! These sound great! Since you read my post, you know that I haven't done that much reading the the last several years, but I have read Half Broke Horses & The Glass Castle and loved them. I almost put The Book Thief on my list - I might have to add it. :-)

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    1. Reading good books helps a person read more, so this was a great theme for the week!

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  8. I've only read two on your list. The Book Thief (great used it in my book club) and The Paris Wife. I really liked that one. Thanks for the reads for the future.

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    1. I haven't run into anyone who has read The Paris Wife. Glad to hear I wasn't the only one who liked it.

      Enjoy!

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  9. I've read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. If you need another book about orphans, try The Children of Willesden Lane.

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  10. Golly...I wish I had your list when it was my turn to pick a book for my book club a couple of months ago. I will be sure to remember for next time....like that's going to happen. ;)

    One of our group's favourite was The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. It's about a crew team from University of Washington training for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. I LOVED it! Many on my dragon boat team are now reading too. All about team work. I think Phoenix would enjoy this one too.

    The other that I really enjoyed was The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. A light and very enjoyable read. I have the sequel The Rosie Effect which I'm hoping to read next.

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    1. I'd tell you to write it down, but I'm going to guess you'd lose the note before then. Because I know I would. :)

      I love that you have been around long enough to know which of my kids would like it.

      I will put both books on my list of things to read.

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  11. We Should Hang Out Some Time By Josh Sundquist. It's an autobiography about his investigation on why he was single so long and what was wrong with hit (hint nothing) <---- that also gives away nothing... its on the cover. Josh is a Cancer survivor, who lost his leg, Youtuber, Para Olympic skier and soccer player and all around great guy. He is also really really funny. I have recommend his book so much that his last name is in my phone dictionary, which when I tweeted him that he found it really funny. Anyway it's a great read and reminds us who we are as people, and that we are not as flawed as we thing.

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    1. How can I not read this book after that comment?!?!? It has moved to the top of my must-read list!

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you're thinking!